Accidental Rental

Two Weeks

Two weeks had passed since the drunk events had unfold. Baekho thought he would have forgotten all about Minhyun by then since it wasn't like they were even close in the first place but here he was, scrolling through the rental application again and stopping right at the smiling face of the tall man he had only seen 6 times. Again, he would close the app and asked why he did that instead of deleting the app like he had planned to that day when he got home. Naeun had also come home lesser than usual and he found out that she had gotten a part time job after having another argument with her. It seemed like they only argued nowadays but then again, they had always been the bickering duo at home so this was only an upgraded version of that. He could barely concentrate at work too, constantly hovering his hand over his phone but pulling back before he picked it up or blanking out while someone talked to him. It infuriated him to be this way but he didn't understand the cause of his wavering focus. Minhyun was nothing more than an acquaintance to him so there was no reason for him to seek him out actively like this.

"I'm just upset that I have no one to talk to that would listen. That's right. That's why I keep thinking about him," Baekho muttered to himself, trying to convince himself that his thoughts were purely due to loneliness. Spending time with JR didn't help his situation either since the other male was often busy as well and had tons of other things on his mind. His wandering mind had almost made him walk straight into a lamp post when he stopped just in time before his head went headbutting it. He groaned at how little attention he had been giving to his surroundings itself but the moment he looked behind the lamp post, he regretted it.

Because standing there with a arm wrapped around someone else's waist was Minhyun. It was already quite dark out so he thought he was mistaking the male for Minhyun after having thought about him for 2 whole weeks but the moment his lips broke into a smile, Baekho knew it was definitely Minhyun. His smile was much brighter than what Baekho had seen in their last 6 meetings or only 6 meetings. He was also laughing. Baekho's attention was all on Minhyun that he completely forgot about the shorter person until Minhyun leaned down closer to the person's face. He felt a weird conflicted gut contraction when he saw that and he quickly turned away, wheezing as he grasped his chest. This was so not happening. He turned back again to see them walking into the restaurant as they were next in line. His feet brought him to the front of the restaurant but he didn't enter. He tried to find for the couple but couldn't see them so he quickly left before the waiter shooed him away. He went straight home and tossed his bag onto the couch, removing his neck tie before letting out an unsatisfied yell. He threw a pillow and wondered why he was feeling so enraged anyways. It wasn't like what he saw meant anything. It shouldn't have. It did not mean anything.

"Shit, shit, shit," he muttered as he paced up and down the room, trying to calm himself down and reason it out but he couldn't find a reason for the bitter taste in his mouth or his curled fists.

"Do you really think I would have stayed the night here if all I care about was the money?"

Baekho stopped pacing and froze in place. That was what Minhyun had said before they left the hotel. Somehow remembering those words struck a chord in Baekho's heart.

"If you didn't care about the money, why have you not come find me?" Baekho found himself asking. He sat down on the floor where he stood and felt lost yet this lost feeling wasn't foreign to him. "You're not a friend... is that why? You're not obligated to anyways..." Baekho pulled his legs closer to himself and hugged it, curling up and feeling ashamed for having such a breakdown over someone who he didn't even consider a friend. He wasn't sure how long he sat there but his sister came home and freaked out.

"Brother?! Why are you sitting in the middle of the living room like that? Are you trying to kill me with a heart attack?" She shrieked and smacked his head that was buried between his legs. He looked up at her and she stiffened. "Have you been... crying?"

"No," he huffed. "I'm just tired."

Naeun shifted uncomfortably between her feet before letting out a sigh. She pulled out an envelope and handed it to him. Baekho was confused and didn't take it but she grabbed his hand and slapped it on. "Look. I'm sorry for being such a spoilt brat before this. I didn't mean to give you so much trouble... This... it's my first pay check and I want you to have it as long as you don't kick me out from the house or call mum and dad." Baekho was stunned. He stared at Naeun before looking down at the envelope again.

"But..."

"Just shut it and accept it," She grumbled and started walking back to her room.

"Naeun."

"What?"

"Sorry for being such a terrible brother."

Naeun frowned and sighed. "You're not... terrible. It's not like I hate you or anything." She went back into her room and left Baekho alone. Baekho sighed and laid down on the floor, wondering when and where had everything started going downhill but maybe this wasn't that bad for a start. He looked at the envelope and smiled a little. Maybe it would start going back uphill again.

He was determined to forget all about Minhyun so the first thing he did was delete the rental application.

It should be an easy feat since Minhyun was nothing more than someone he had met a couple of times before, right?